


Hanakotoba: The Language of Flowers

by Of_Lights_and_Shadows



Series: AkaKuro Week 2016 [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro Week, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Day Two, I rarely do this but oh well, M/M, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 20:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6535183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Lights_and_Shadows/pseuds/Of_Lights_and_Shadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven times Kuroko Tetsuya received flowers; and one the send.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hanakotoba: The Language of Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Day Two of AkaKuro Week 2016.
> 
> Out of Upside Down, Treats, and Language, the first thing I thought was the language of flowers. And since Akashi and Kuroko are Japanese, I've been researching Hanakotoba since Sunday afternoon.

 

I’m not a person easily remembered. This, I know well, so I got used to not receive gifts and presents by people who weren’t close family. So, of course, I was surprised when a small, seemingly hand-picked bouquet of **_lilacs_** and **_violets_ ** was delivered to me, shortly after the Winter Cup finals.

The second time I received flowers was a single **_lotus_** flower, fully bloomed, graceful and fragrant. It was given to me right after Monday practice.

The third time, I was given a bouquet of **_camellias_** , both while and yellow. I was surprised, since it was such a sharp turn from the lotus.

The **_lily of the valley_** is a beautiful flower, as well, and that was what I was offered next, an elegant, fragile flower.

After that, I was greeted with a basket of **_primrose_**. It had put me into deep thought seeing that flower. That perhaps, there was a meaning behind those flowers. On the other hand, perhaps someone might have thought it’d be a nice joke to send flowers on a stranger. Which, of course, wasn’t.

I find a **_tulip_** on my shoe locker, of all places. Its petals were a pure, mesmerizing yellow; it almost looked like a plastic flower instead of a real one. But one touch and it’d be enough to tell it was the real thing.

There was silence from the mysterious sender for a while. Until one Saturday evening, I return home, seeing my grandmother at the front door. I was truly happy to see her again, but she seemed sad for some reason.

She had a bouquet at her hands. It was an unusual arrangement. A single **_red spider lily_** surrounded by blue **_sweet peas_**. “Tetsuya-kun,” she spoke, and there was sadness in her voice, “do you know who sent those flowers to you?”

I shake my head; no, I don’t know the person.

“Did they send you other flowers, as well?”

I nod, and list all the flowers I received.

She cries. “Tetsuya-kun, that person loves you!!” she declares. “The lilacs were meant to indicate you were their first love; the violets are meant to be a plead for love!” she begins her explanation. “The lotus means _to be away from the one you love_ , as for the camellias, white ones mean that they’re waiting for you, while the yellow ones that he longs for you.”

She takes a deep breath, before resuming. “By sending you lilies of the valley, that person wanted to tell you that they think of you as sweet. Well, they’re not wrong at this one.”

I try not to laugh. “Please be serious, obaa-san.”

“I am serious. What was I saying? Ah, of course. After that, you were given primrose. _I’m desperate._ For knowing if you feel the same, I’m guessing, and I’m probably right.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You received a yellow tulip after that. _My love for you is one-sided._ ” She sighs. “And finally, today’s flowers. The spider lilies say _we’ll never meet again_ , as for the sweet peas, they say _goodbye._ ”

I stand there, completely lost at what has been revealed to me. So, the flowers held a meaning? And it was directed to me?

A phone ringing breaks me away from my thoughts. I check the screen, and answer.

“Hello, Midorima-kun.”

“Kuroko. Have you seen Akashi today?”

“I haven’t. But why would I?”

“He said he was coming to Tokyo for the day, to meet someone, but I haven’t seen him. I talked with Momoi and Aomine; they haven’t seen him, either.”

I can’t believe those words. Akashi-kun, lying? Or worse, disappearing?

“I’ll let you know if I see him, Midorima-kun.” I reply and end the call, without waiting for an answer.

“Obaa-san, do you remember the person who brought the flowers?”

“Hmm, I think I do. He was around your height, and had red hair and yes. Does this sound familiar? Was it someone you know?”

I find myself nodding, not being able to properly reply.

“Please try and find him, Kuroko.” She urges. “He looked too sad for someone so young.”

 

-//-

 

It was too late, though. He disappeared from our lives, as though he had never existed.

 

-//-

 

_(7 years later – Change to Akashi’s POV)_

Life has been quiet since I left Japan. Sometimes, I look back, wondering, if it was the right thing to do. Leaving like a coward, I took the first chance that was offered to me. I moved from Japan from England, finishing high school and university here, while working.

I decided to close my heart to love. After all, the one time I wanted to speak of it, I received to reply, as if I was talking to the dead.

“I was told to give this to you.” A person I saw for the first time speaks, handling me a small flower pot and a piece of paper, before disappearing from my sight.

It’s a a blooming cactus. One might think of it as a joke. You don’t offer a cactus like that, unless…

 

**_I lust for you._ **

I unfold the piece of paper, and carefully read.

It’s in Japanese. It’s the first time after all this years I’ve been passed since I’ve received a note written in Japanese.

 _Seijurou-kun_ , it said, _I’m sorry it took so long to find you. Or tell you how I feel. I apologize for making you want to run away like that. I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same anymore._

I can’t help but smile. My feelings weren’t one-sided, after all.

This happiness is overbearing.

I’m finally sure, that I’m truly loved.


End file.
